Live vs. Memorex

When I was growing up in the 1970s there was an iconic commercial whose theme was, “Was it live or Memorex?” For any of our readers that are under the age of 50, ask your parents about it. It was spectacular marketing. We won’t spend this week’s Monday Huddle Up diving too deep into this great commercial involving cassette tapes and Ella Fitzgerald (again, if you are unfamiliar ask your folks or the Google).

On vacation recently for some crazy reason this old commercial came up and I talked to our son Brock about it. He had little interest in what a cassette tape was. Anyway, later that night back in the hotel, he turned on CNBC and Shark Tank. Our family has been watching the Tank since it started in 2009 (bonus points if you can name the original Sharks, hint, Mark Cuban was NOT one of them).

In this episode from season 16, which is one we had missed previously, there was a live studio audience. So what do you think happens when people like the Sharks are in front of a live crowd cheering and booing each deal versus their normal buttoned up business centered TV setting they are used to?

They act VERY differently.

This one episode was fascinating. With a live “arena” around them they acted completely differently than in their traditional sterile business set. The Sharks are all high level business people that want to get the best financial result they can muster. In their traditional “Tank” they are reserved, calculated, smart, and know when to hold them and when to fold them (RIP Kenny Rogers).

So what was different with a live studio audience?

The Sharks got competitive. WAY more so than they normally would be.

This is anecdotal, but I can tell you that Lori Greneer makes the least offers of the Sharks from week to week. In this environment, she made the most (she even changed a few of her offers when she was going to get outbid with all those people watching live). There are more examples but there was just way more action happening when the Sharks were in a public/arena type environment.

Going back to the original Memorex commercial. If it is live, it’s different…..

We see this same thing happening with the organizations we work with. Especially in the political realm. There is one conversation that is public (live) then there is a completely different discussion when it is taped (behind closed doors). We realize that politics happen, however a lack of transparency and the horse trading that goes on in the background doesn’t help anyone.

If we can be the same leaders (or Sharks or political figures) in public that we are in private, everyone wins. Everyone knows what victory looks like in that environment. Our stakeholders win, our organizations win, and our communities win.

This week, be the externally facing leaders and collaborators that we want others to be.